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Dutch royals can marry same-sex partner without giving up crown

In the country that first legalized gay marriage, the Dutch crown princess has the right to marry a person of any gender without giving up her right to the throne, the prime minister said Tuesday. Crown Princess Catharina-Amalia, 17, has not made any comments on the matter, and little is known of her personal life. The question arose after recently published books argued that the country’s rules exclude the possibility of a same-sex royal couple. But Prime Minister Mark Rutte said times have changed since one of his predecessors last addressed the issue in 2000. “The government believes that the […]

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‘Worst List’ names 180 colleges that are ‘unsafe’ for LGBTQ students

An LGBTQ nonprofit on Monday released its annual Worst Listnaming 180 colleges and universities as “the absolute worst, most unsafe campuses for LGBTQ youth.”  Campus Pride, which advocates for LGBTQ inclusivity and safety at U.S. colleges and universities, added 50 universities to the list since last year — the most extensive update since the list started in 2015, according to the organization. The list includes colleges and universities that have either received or applied for a religious exemption to Title IX, a federal law that protects students from discrimination in federally funded schools, or have a “demonstrated history of anti-LGBTQ policies, […]

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Is Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema bad for bisexual Americans?

It wasn’t that long ago that embattled Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema was hailed as a triumph of bisexual representation. After she was sworn in in January 2019, Out celebrated the first openly bisexual senator as a “rebuke to Trumpism,” positioning the “sassy lawmaker” in opposition to homophobic then-Vice President Mike Pence. It wasn’t that long ago that embattled Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema was hailed as a triumph of bisexual representation. But just a few years into her tenure, public opinion has soured on Sinema. Instead of a brash, bisexual icon willing and able to stand up to the far right, she’s now seen as […]

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Experimental one-time ‘functional cure’ for HIV begins human trials

A unique, one-time treatment for HIV has been given the green light to begin human trials by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Excision BioTherapeutics can now begin using the gene-editing treatment, called CRISPR, to explore if the process could potentially function as a treatment for HIV. Their treatment, EBT-101, uses CRISPR to cut out several pieces of the HIV genome through a one-time treatment. Daniel Dornbusch, CEO of Excision, said the clearance of EBT-101 “represents an important milestone” for the company and is the “result of years of commitment to developing a functional cure for individuals living with HIV”. “Although […]

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Across Africa, major churches strongly oppose LGBTQ rights

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In Ghana, home to a diverse array of religions, leaders of major churches have united in denouncing homosexuality as a “perversion” and endorsing legislation that would, if enacted, impose some of the harshest anti-LGBTQ policies in Africa. In Nigeria, the umbrella body for Christian churches depicts same-sex relationships as an evil meriting the lengthy prison sentences prescribed under existing law. And in several African countries, bishops aligned with the worldwide United Methodist Church are preparing to join an in-the-works breakaway denomination so they can continue their practice of refusing to recognize same-sex marriage or ordain LGBTQ clergy. In the United […]

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Germany: Include Trans People in Coalition Agreement

Germany’s political parties negotiating coalition agreements to create a new government should make a commitment to change the law on legal gender recognition, so that it is based on self-determination, not so-called expert reports, Human Rights Watch said today. While the parties try to reach agreements on key issues such as climate, foreign policy, migration, and the economy, they should also address the current pathologizing and onerous procedure for transgender people to modify their registered name and gender.  “Germany’s current procedure for gender recognition is out of tune with developments in international law and medical science,” said Cristian González Cabrera, LGBT rights researcher at […]

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Trans woman becomes first in Uganda to get ID card in her correct gender

The first known Ugandan trans woman to receive a national ID card with an ‘F’ marker wants to “shed the sad African trans narrative”. Cleopatra Kambugu always knew she was different. Growing up in Kampala, Uganda, in a family of 15, she describes her early life as challenging. “People always called me ‘boy-girl’ or ‘shemale’,” she tells PinkNews. Her transness was always clear to her and to those around her, but she was held back by a lack of knowledge and terminology. Now 35, Cleo Kambugu is a leading trans activist working towards social justice and equality for trans, intersex and non-binary people, as well […]

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Four gay men beaten, banished and arrested in Ghana for ‘just trying to live’

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Four men were brutally beaten with sticks and banished for being gay in Tamale, Ghana, capturing the rising tensions – and fears – over an anti-LGBT+ bill. The men, according to graphic video footage seen by activists, were violently battered by a Choggu community leader as a crowd gathered to watch on Tuesday (19 October). According to Pulse, a Ghanian news outlet, a gay couple in the town attacked his ex-partner with a machete. The pair were later interrogated, where the local authorities came to realise the men were gay, the outlet claimed, and named two other gay men involved in the scuffle. They […]

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Democrats press Biden admin to lift embassy ban on discussing gay marriage

More than 60 House Democrats are calling on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to lift the State Department’s blanket ban on U.S. diplomats lobbying for gay marriage in an official capacity. The lawmakers’ request comes after testimony in June from Scott Busby, the acting principal deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s Bureau on Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, revealed that the department’s official policy is to not “advocate for or against same-sex marriage overseas.” In a letter addressed to Blinken on Wednesday, the group of lawmakers said the policy was “outdated” and should be “rescinded as a matter of urgency.” “We do not […]

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Illinois high schoolers survey if ‘queers’ should use the bathroom with ‘normal people’

A survey asking students if they think “queers” should be allowed to use the school restroom with “normal people” circulated at an Illinois high school this week, the latest of a recent slew of reported attacks on LGBTQ students across the country.  The survey was distributed at Anna-Jonesboro Community High School in Anna, Illinois, on Wednesday by an unidentified number of students who called themselves the “Anti-Queer Association,” according Rob Wright, the school’s superintendent. It asks students to vote either “(YES) I WANT QUEERS TO GO IN THE BATHROOM” or “(NO) I DON’T WANT QUEER KIDS TO GO TO THE BATHROOM WITH […]

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